IRVINE, Calif.—Late July saw CombiMatrix Corp., a family health molecular diagnostics companies specializing in DNA-based reproductive health and pediatric testing services, announce that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Invitae Corp. to be acquired in an all-stock merger for approximately $33 million.

The merger has been approved by each company’s board of directors and is conditioned upon, among other things, approval by CombiMatrix’s stockholders, Invitae’s registration of common stock to be used to acquire CombiMatrix, and at least 90% participation in a warrant exchange offer. The proposed merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“We are excited about the prospect of joining forces with Invitae, one of the nation’s fastest-growing genetics information companies, to help achieve even higher levels of patient satisfaction, growth and shareholder value,” said Mark McDonough, president and CEO of CombiMatrix. “At CombiMatrix, we have worked very hard to establish ourselves as a high-touch, patient-focused organization delivering the highest quality in reproductive health and pediatric diagnostic testing services. Over the past few years we have consistently increased our revenue, grown our customer base, improved gross margins and significantly reduced our operating loss despite capital constraints. By coming together with Invitae, we believe we can synergistically combine their scale, technology and expertise with the CombiMatrix product offering, human capital and sales channels to achieve even greater success in the future for the company and our shareholders.”

Sean George, CEO of Invitae, added: “For many people, preparing to have a child is their introduction to the power of genetics to inform health decisions. The combination of Invitae and CombiMatrix will expand our ability to provide actionable answers to the complex questions that can arise when starting a family. CombiMatrix’s expertise in miscarriage analysis and assisted reproduction, deep relationships with perinatal specialists and established technologies will round out Invitae’s capabilities, creating a comprehensive platform to further accelerate the use of genetic information in mainstream medical care.”